The Three Secrets to Immortality
by AutumnBlade
Summary: When a mysterious new kunoichi, Mutsuhito Rido, a ninja with a deadly secret, shows up at the hidden leaf and leeches herself to Naruto things beging to get bizzare. Rido's curse give to her as a warning to her clan can be tamed by one thing only: Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER

A disclaimer for the ages….you know why ….

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters nor am I affiliated with anyone who does.

Chapter 1

The only thing that stood between the Hidden Leaf and Rido Mutsuhito now was this rogue ninja blocking her path. This was not the first rouge shinobi that she had ever encountered, but they never failed to shake her courage. But she couldn't afford to become cowardly now. She had to get to the Uzumaki. If she failed her mission she would never be able to return to her clan. The ninja in her path now, though, had no visible intention of letting her go. This made her edgy if anything. She knew that they were going to have to fight which that meant that she was going to have to use her power. The mere thought of awakening the hideous sentinel inside of her made her deeply nauseous. But some things could not be avoided. Slowly, Rido drew her kunai, not wanting her opponent to think that she was going to attack.

The ninja tensed in response preparing for defense. But to his great shock, Rido drew the knife to her own throat, slicing an opening horizontally from which blood poured down her clothes. This surprising revelation froze the rouge ninja in curiosity. _Good_, Rido thought, _he's hesitating_. The blood poured over the ground quickly, gathering in a dark pool by her feet. Then it rose, encircling her body in a dark spiral of dripping blood.

The ninja before her jumped in surprise at the sight of the living blood surrounding her. Rido could feel the sentinel making itself known, maneuvering its way into the front of her soul and spilling its chakra into hers. Her vision blurred, losing first its color and then all of its light. Soon she was blind, but she could sense the ninja still standing before her. She knew better where he was now than when she could see. His soul pulsed like a beckon in the darkness of her mind. The sentinel and her were one now, its manic lust for death and blood enveloped her mind.

Though she struggled to keep her sanity in the light of the sentinel's ferocious rage, Rido was soon a slave to the beast within her, nothing but a conscious voice of reason in the back of her own mind. The sentinel roared a bloodthirsty rasp of anger before lunging at the terrified ninja who was making a futile retreat. The kill was quick; a simple snap of the neck, nothing more than a lion would do to an antelope.

That part could be dealt with.

What couldn't be shaken off was the way the sentinel feasted on the man, draining him first of blood then off all but the shells of his bones. Her vision usually returned by this time which was a horrific thing to endure. She had no control of her body still, and was forced to watch as the sentinel forced her to consume human flesh.

Of course, the sentinel hadn't always been inside of her. But that was a time long before the fifteenth member of the Mortality Association decided to have Rido injected with the sentinel as a warning to the rest of her clan who he thought were becoming to powerful.

Rido had to deal with the beast ever since then, but now there was hope. It was said that the guardian sentinel of the nine-tailed fox demon would be at peace once its purpose was served. Now Rido had not the slightest idea what that purpose was, but she was willing to try anything. There was nothing that she would sacrifice to stop the murderous sentinel inside her.

Kakashi watched as Naruto and Sasuke spared violently, obviously using more enthusiasm than necessary for a simple sparing match. But as Kakashi had dually noted, Naruto and Sasuke often lost their heads when they were fighting each other. With Naruto it was somewhat amusing when he would try so hard. But when it came to Sasuke, his over enthusiasm worried Kakashi. Not for Naurto's safety—which would be a well needed ego deflator if Sasuke hurt him—but the fact that he was so desperate for power. For vengeance.

That kind of reasoning is what created shinobi like Orochimaru. Ninja's so desperate for power that they would betray their own village to get it. Kakashi didn't need the all-seeing Sharingan to see that Sasuke's path was leading straight to darkness.

"All right, that's enough." Kakashi stated.

Sasuke stopped before Naruto did, causing him to land an idle punch in Sasuke's side.

"What the hell, idiot?" Sasuke demanded returning the blow with much more force.

Naruto stumbled backward almost tumbling into the raging river that encircled the training meadow. Sakura watched in amusement thinking of how strong Sasuke was instead of Naurto's safety, which was just as well considering that Sasuke was just about all Sakura ever thought about.

"Damn it Sasuke! It was an accident you bastard!" Naruto yelled. He hated it especially when Sasuke made him look bad in front of Sakura-chan.

"Calm down Naruto. It's stupid to get so angry over nothing. No wonder you're so bad at controlling your stamina and mastering jutsus. You waste all your energy on ranting". Kakashi said matter-o-factly.

Naruto grunted in response and crossed his arms defiantly. Kakashi wondered if he would ever be praised for having to deal with someone as…full of life…as Naruto on a daily basis. Instead of dwelling on that thought, he resumed his spot in Come Come Paradise while his students recharged.

"Can we go now sensei?" Sasuke asked as if for once in his life he had something better to do than training.

"Sure," Kakashi replied, waving them off. Whatever Sasuke was up to was none of his business anyway. If he stirred up trouble for the village then Ichiro would deal with him.

Naruto was, of course, in no hurry to get home. There was never anyone waiting for him, so instead he strayed into the woods to practice his punches on the trees, trying to crack them with shear force.

The air grew orange with the sun's setting rays, telling Naruto that it was time to go home. He'd been making no headway with the tree splitting anyway so going home might have been a good idea.

He had the key halfway in his door before it was flung open by the other side. It took Naruto a while to register what happened while he tried to fit his key into the lock that wasn't there anymore. Rido had little patients with such foolishness, especially when she was so close to her objective.

"Naruto?" she asked eagerly.

He jumped; completely startled by the person that was clearly standing right in front of him. He took in the girl standing in the doorway to his house. But before he could protest her intrusion he noticed that she was very striking, with bizarre red pupils. But Naruto was used to weird eyes, thinking of Hyuuga Neji and that Gaara. They booth had weird eyes.

And they were both very dangerous.

Naruto became defensive, quickly pulling a kunai to Rido's throat. Rido tensed. Cutting her there would do nothing but kill _him_ instead of her but Naruto didn't know this. Rido put both hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry," Rido said quickly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Please, I didn't mean to…I don't want to hurt you…I just…" Damn it, why hadn't Rido thought of this part before? Naruto kept the kunai pressed dangerously close to her throat. _Please don't cut me,_ she thought hard.

Finally Naruto relaxed and crossed his arms. What did this girl want? Maybe she was some kind of weirdo stalker. It was possible. Sasuke had a stalker so it only made sense that he did. "What are you doing in my house? Are you some crazy stalker? Huh?"

_Does he really believe that anyone would want to stalk him?_ Rido thought. But she had to be as kind to Naruto as possible if she was going to get what she wanted. She smiled shyly.

"No, I'm not. Sorry for breaking into your home Naruto-sama, but when nobody answered…well there's no excuse. Can you forgive a foolish girl?"

But Naruto wasn't listening. He was still hung up on the fact that she called him _sama_.

"Naruto-sama? Are you mad?"

Naruto didn't feel mad. But he tried to play up his new position as Naruto _-sama. _He put his hand together as if about to perform a jutsu and growled. "This is what happens when you mess with lord Uzumaki Naruto-sama! Bow to me and I _may_ forgive you."

_Is this guy for real?_ Rido thought sourly. She wasn't one to bow to just anybody but she figured she should make an exception. If the Uzumaki wouldn't befriend her than she would have to return home a failure. How could she face her clan? Rido bowed deeply and awaited him to order her to rise.

It was good thing that Rido's head was down so that she didn't catch Naruto busting a gut—like he had one to spare. "Rise, you are spared…this time."

Rido stood up and stared at Naruto. He was grinning an annoying foolish smile that made her want to laugh and sigh at the same time.

"Hey, you're really not a crazy stalker are you?" Naruto asked slyly.

"No,"

"Good. Then to pay for my emotional distress of having my house broken into, you can buy me ramen!"


	2. Chapter 2

Rido and Naruto sat at the ramen counter, Naruto choking down his noodles quickly and Rido watching quietly. She wasn't really hungry; she couldn't eat when she was this nervous. The Uzumaki was _right there_. Right in front of her. The answer to her deepest hearts desires. Right there….

"Um, Naruto?" Rido asked.

"Humph?" He responded not look from his bowl.

"Uh, I was just wondering, um, about…your training. How's it going?"

Naruto looked up. She actually wanted to know about how strong he was! "Well! I'm getting really good. My sensei's seeing real progress in me! Real improvement. Really! Soon I'll be better than good, I'll be the best! And when that happens I'll show this whole village what I can do! I'll show them my true power!"

_True power_? Rido could barely hide her anticipation. "True power? You mean the power of the nine-tailed fox?"

Naurto's smile faded. How did she know about the nine-tailed fox? And better yet, why did she seem so excited to know? Naruto became suspicious again. The Akasuki came to his mind. And Itachi.

"Why?" Naruto asked slowly.

_Oh no! _Rido thought. _Does he suspect something? Was I too forward? Well of course he does!! He's not an idiot!!_ She looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry Uzumaki-sama. I apologize for being rude. You don't have to tell me."

Naruto was relieved. He didn't feel like being pressured into telling personal stuff, especially when it was valuable information and to a person he barely knew. "Good. Okay." Naruto resumed inhaling his food.

Rido sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. But she had to try. What else could she do? Rido politely waited for Naruto to swallow the rest of his food before suggesting that it was getting late.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto admitted.

"I…I guess I'll see you later?"

Naruto hesitated. He wasn't exactly sure about 'seeing her later' but he did enjoy her company. Even if she did turn out to be a crazy stalker. At least he'd have something to brag about to Sasuke.

"Sure."

Rido nodded happily and turned away. Then Naruto remembered something.

"Wait!"

Rido stopped and turned back, surprised. "What."

"I didn't get your name."

"Mutsuhito. Mutsuhito Rido."

Naruto scratched his head uncomfortably. He didn't like being formal—except when people were being formal to him. "Would you mind if I just called you Rido?"

_Wow. This is unexpected. But what the heck. _Rido nodded. "Sure.

The next morning Rido awoke to something tickling her face. She rubbed it idly and the tried to go back to sleep. But that was before she realized that the tickling was coming from a tarantula the size of her face.

"Whoa!! Okay, okay. Don't scream. Don't freak out. Just gently…okay gently now…carefully…" Rido was really trying hard to be calm. If she screamed the village shinobi might be alarmed. She carefully maneuvered the spider of her face and then away from her. Her fear of spiders, _especially_ the large and hairy ones, was difficult to control. But she managed.

"That's what you get for sleeping in trees." She scolded herself.

"True. Maybe now you'll learn." An unknown voice chimed in from below.

Rido poked her head out from the branches to see a dark haired boy with a small dog below.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Though it was clear by the symbol he sported that he was a ninja from this village.

"Training." He replied with a shrug. "I should be asking you that same question, foreigner."

The dog on his shoulder barked and then growled.

Rido was frightened. She didn't mean to cause trouble for the village, but apparently she had. And this ninja did not look friendly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'll leave if I have to."

Rido started to climb down the tree.

"Stay where you are!" The ninja called angrily.

Rido froze.

The young ninja ran, so fast her eyes almost missed it, up the tree in front of hers and then, with a blurring quick swipe jumped in front of her and drew a kunai to her throat.

_Not again with this! What is with these people?_ Once again Rido raised both hands in surrender.

"Don't move." The ninja growled. "What is your name, foreigner?"

Rido swallowed hard and spoke, "Mutsuhito Rido of the Hidden Soul Village."

"Hidden Soul? Bah! There's no such village!"

Rido started to shake her head but then remembered the blade pressed up against her jugular. "Yes. We don't associate with other villages. We are very secretive."

"Where's your headband?"

Rido rolled her eyes, sighing in her mind for not wearing it. She didn't want to risk any tension by representing another village in theirs. _How stupid was that idea._ "I don't wear it."

"Why? Aren't you a shinobi?"

"Yes."

The ninja growled then turned to his dog who was sitting obediently by his side. "Akamaru. Go and alert the nearest jounin. We have a spy on our hands.

_Damn it!!! _Rido slipped out from under the blade and scrambled down the tree.

"Hey wait!!!"

But Rido was already to far gone to comply.

"Damn." Kiba muttered. "Akamaru, tell the jounin we have a situation."

And with that Kiba leapt in pursuit of the fleeing ninja


	3. Chapter 3

Unlike her own village that used deadly traps to keep out intruders, this one apparently used its shear confusion as its weapon. The sharply immense forest of trees that looked identical soon had Rido running in circles and by the time the sun was cresting on the horizon, she was exhausted.

_But I have to keep moving, _She thought. _If the catch me I'm as good as dead._

Just then she heard voices to her right getting louder as they closed the distance.

But Rido didn't have the strength to move anymore. Maybe they'd let her go if she was kind. It was a hopeless thought but what else could she do. They no doubt, thought that she was a spy. And no ninja village ever had mercy with spies.

Rido's mind filled with horrid images of ninja torture techniques as they would try to wring all the information from her they could. But she wasn't a spy, not that they'd care to listen to the truth.

_Oh God here they come. Wait…that's much too noisy to be a ninja. Then who?..._

Just then, a tiny boy came stumbling out of the underbrush along with two other miniature ninjas. All three children were wearing fake plastic headbands that had the heart shaped crest of the Hidden Soul.

"Rido, we found you." The first boy said.

It took Rido a while to actually recognize the kids because she was still coming out of her panic, but almost immediately after the littlest boy spoke she familiarized their faces.

"Takamichi, Sora, and Hozumi. What the _hell_ are you three _doing_ here? This is a dangerous place for little kids to be, in the clutches of another village!"

The smallest boy, Takamichi waved Rido off as if her warnings were for nothing. "Come on, Rido. You know me! I can take on all these village idiots and then some! Hey, come out and fight me stupid Leaf ninjas!"

Rido hand to smash her hand against Takamichi's mouth to get him to shut up. "Shhh! Do you have a death wish? Don't you understand that that little plastic thing on your head doesn't mean you're a shinobi? You could get killed and they won't hesitate to do it."

The little girl, Hozumi, went trembling at the mention of death. "Really? Maybe she's right Takamichi. Maybe we'd better go back home."

Takamichi glared daggers at Hozumi. "Nobody asked you!"

Rido had about enough of their loud child's play. "Alright, alright. Just get out of here. _Please._ Especially you Sora. Mother would be horrified if I told her what you were up to."

Sora hated getting nagged by his mother so without consulting with the others he turned and walked off. He was the type of kid who went to his own flow.

"Hey Sora wait for me!" Hozumi called affectionately and dashed after him.

"Aw come on you guys!" Takamichi groaned. He looked back at Rido. "We came to tell you that your family is expecting you back soon with your mission succeeded." And with that he followed in pursuit of his friends.

_Aw great._ Her clan was in waiting and she was nowhere near here goal just yet.

Suddenly Rido was on the ground, her legs knocked out from under her by some dark sliding figure.

They had arrived.

Another shady figure jumped out of the forest from Rido's right and flung a handful of kunais at her. But Rido couldn't move to shield herself. She was being pinned down by some sort of ninjutsu. But the knives missed her, landing in the ground at both her sides.

But then the kunais contracted together revealing the wires that were binding her and circling it around her more tightly. She barely had enough room to breath let alone struggle.

Both figures approached her and the knelt down to meat her face to face. She didn't recognize either of the ninjas but it was apparent that they were both jonin and both of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Your name foreigner." The first asked.

"Mutsuhito Rido of the Hidden Soul."

"Hidden…what? _Soul?_"

Rido nodded slowly.

The second ninja whispered something to the first and then turned back to her. "Why have you come here?"

"…" Rido couldn't tell her real objective. She couldn't lie either, they were specially trained to detect that. She had to keep silent, no matter how bad it looked for her case. "No particular reason."

Both shinobi stared at her. Ninjas always had reasons for imposing in another village. Everyone knew this.

"Were going to have to take you with us." The first shinobi ordered.

_Great, here comes the torture. I wonder what they'll do to me. Maybe they'll lock me in a dirt cell or tear my skin off until I talk. Or maybe—_

"Rido!!" A loud voice called from the forest. Just then the Uzumaki came stumbling out making no less noise then the kids had.

"Uzumaki-sama?" This was just about the last thing that Rido had been expecting. But she was so relieved that she could hardly feel her heart. Naruto had come to her rescue…technically.

Naruto looked confused. "What are you doing to my friend Kakashi-sensei?"

The first shinobi stood and turned to Naruto. "You know her Naruto?"

"Yeah, I do! Just what do you think you're doing sensei?"

The second shinobi stood too. "Sorry Naruto, we didn't know."

Naruto huffed and then bent down to cut the wires constricting Rido with a kunai.

"Thank you so much Uzumaki-sama!" Rido gushed as she freed herself. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life.

"It's nothing," Naruto said with that hundred watt grin of his.

"We apologize madam." The one called Kakashi said.

"You'd better." Naruto growled. "Come on Rido, let's get out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto's house was messy as Sora's room, Rido noticed. Clothing and papers were strewn haphazardly against every visible surface. She had to catch herself as she tripped over an empty cartoon of milk blocking the way.

"Hey Rido," Naruto said after a while of heavy silence. He had his back to her and she couldn't read his expression, though he sounded like he had nervousness to his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you staying?"

Rido thought vaguely to her tree slumber the past night and shuddered. "Um, nowhere really."

Naruto didn't say anything for a while; he just stood as if contemplating something. "Well, where did you sleep last night?" He finally asked.

"In the trees. That's where one of your village's ninjas found me…"

"What did they look like?"

Rido hardly saw how that was important, but she humored his curiosity. "He had dark hair, a menacing face, and a dog."

"Kiba," Naruto muttered with a laugh. He shook his head and then finally turned to Rido. His face was smiling but he looked very uncomfortable. "Rido…you could stay here if you want."

_…..Whoa._ Rido blinked. She shook out her long black curly hair and smiled at Naruto. Though Naruto seemed very uneasy to the new idea, Rido didn't. She did need a place to stay and this way she would be closer to him then ever. Perfect. "Thank you! A thousand times thank you Uzumaki-sama!" Rido gushed and then hugged Naruto tightly to her.

Almost immediately they both became uncomfortable and pulled away, clearing their throats and straightening out their clothes. But nevertheless, Rido was ecstatic. She would not return home a failure after all. In do time, she would have him.

Hinata shook as she stood outside Naruto's window, but not from the bone-biting wind; it was her heart that was shaking her, making her shiver so much she could no longer stand. She slumped against the wall of Naruto's home, gasping and trying to slow her racing heart.

_Who was that beautiful girl? _Hinata wondered in despair. _She's so beautiful. _Hinata clutched at her chest before daring to look back to the scene inside. They were still there, only talking now, but Hinata couldn't shake the haunting image of their embrace. _I should have been stronger and told him how I feel. It's probably too late now. But…_

Hinata turned away from the window again and started down toward her house. God, why couldn't she have been stronger? Why hadn't she told him? Why? Hinata sobbed violently as she raced back to her home.

Neji was sitting on the steps to the Huuga compound practicing hand signs when Hinata arrived. He didn't notice her at first, and probably wouldn't have if she wasn't crying so loudly. He stopped and looked up at her.

"What's wrong Hinata-sama?" He asked as Hinata slowly climbed the stairs.

"Oh. It's N-nothing."

Neji crossed his arms. "Yes, it is something. Tell me."

Hinata sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Well, alright…." She then relayed all the events of that afternoon leading up to then. Neji sat and listened with his eyes closed in silence. When she was finished he stood up to look her directly in the eyes.

"Hinata, to be honest, I don't know what you see in that idiot, but it's no reason to get upset because you don't _really_ know what happened, right?"

She nodded.

"Right, and the cold hard truth is that even if it turns out that they are together it shouldn't upset you because you two are not going out. In reality what Naruto decides to do with his personal life has nothing to do with you at all."

Hinata nodded for Neji's benefit but she couldn't show how his words had cut her heart. Instead of breaking down she proceed to her home and to her room to think about why Neji was right. And of course he _was_ right. But she couldn't do anything about how her heart burned as if lit on fire when she thought of him, or how her soul nearly jumped out of her body when she was near him, or how her heart bled as she faced the truth: that she loved him. With all her heart and more, but that would never change anything, not if she never had the strength to _tell him._

Rido adjusted herself uncomfortably as she lay on the makeshift bed Naruto had provided her with. It was a nice gesture but it still didn't make up for the updraft that came up through the cracks in the floorboards or Naruto's _snoring! _ If you could even call the sound a snore, it was much more of a cross between a buzz saw and a dying lion. She covered her head with her sheet in a futile attempt to block out some of the racket, but the sound seemed loud enough to wake the dead let alone her.

Rido propped herself up on her elbows and looked at Naruto. He had one arm hanging over the side of his bed and the most adorable look on his face that she had ever seen. She smiled despite herself and stood to go cover him up. He looked so peaceful, so innocent and cute. It sent a wave of pain through her soul when she thought of how she would _use_ him. But she had to, it couldn't be helped.

She sighed and sat at the foot of his bed staring through the window at the black, heavy night. Naruto's snoring wasn't bothering her anymore but she decided that maybe a walk would help clear her head.

Outside the air was crisp and sharp with wintry cold and the sky had no stars. _Just as well_, Rido thought, pulling her hood up and starting toward the town's center. Along the way she noticed how close and quaint everything was. The whole village looked like a single home, everything flowing into the next.

She looked over the guard rail at the Hokage memorial. The breeze shifted suddenly and Rido sensed that something was amiss. She spun around and hurled a shuriken directly in front of her stepping to avoid the one that her enemy hurled first. She flipped back onto the railing and stood crouched, ready to spring when her foe revealed themselves.

A shinobi from the Hidden Soul stepped out of the shadows and into view. Rido climbed down, confused. "What? Why?"

Rido had remembered to put on her headband, not wanting a repeat of her earlier encounter. It was clear that they were from the same village. They may not have met before, but why would a ninja from her own village attack her?

The ninja glared at her and shook his head. "You're of that Mutsuhito clan right?"

Rido nodded, still on defense.

The stranger growled menacingly, "You people of pure lineage think that you can do whatever you want? You think that just because you're strong that makes this okay? All you're going to do is start a war between the Leaf and the Soul! But of course you wouldn't care. You Mutsuhito's don't care about anyone but yourselves!"

Rido stepped back, appalled at the man's harsh words. She knew all to well how much her clan was hated more than any other for the danger their power posed to the rest of her village, but how could he possibly know what her clan was planning? Their motives were top secret. Of course they had seen the possibility of war but it was worth the risk. The Uzumaki had to be taken. He had to be taken and killed.

The thought that she used to adore now made her feel nauseated. Kill him? Kill Naruto? Rido shook away her anxiety.

"Mind your own, if you don't mind." Rido snarled.

"Just as I thought! You Mutsuhito's are all devils and demons! You'll be the downfall of our entire village!" And with that the stranger disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_A clone_, Rido thought bitterly. She slumped down against the railing and sighed. She couldn't kill Naruto. She couldn't do that to him. But she had to. She _had_ to.

"Not tonight though. I can wait. It doesn't have to be tonight."

Back at Naruto's house she came home to find Naruto awake and waiting up for her. He looked genuinely worried which sent another sharp pang of guilt and anguish through her.

"Where were you Rido-chan?"

Her guilt enlarged._ Rido-chan?_ She looked away, ashamed and disappointed in herself. She couldn't hurt Naruto. In no way. She would never be able to bring herself to. She would have to face her clan's burning wrath and probably her own murder at failing to complete her mission, but she'd do it.

To protect Naruto.

"I'm sorry Uzumaki-sama." She whispered. "I was out on a walk. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Naruto smiled, "Its okay."

Rido smiled back before returning to her makeshift bed. It seemed much more comfortable now.

"Goodnight Rido-chan." Naruto said with a huge yawn. How long had he been waiting for her?

"Goodnight…Naruto."


	5. Chapter 5

When the morning finally came, Rido didn't bother waking Naruto. He wouldn't bother to get up anyway. Instead, she threw open the curtains and turned to leave, but just then something outside caught her eye. She stopped and looked back out into the blinding sunlit scenery, seeing nothing at first.

She shrugged and turned to leave again.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice chimed.

Rido spun around to meet the gaze of the same ninja who had tied her up before. The one Naruto had referred to as Kakashi-sensei. He was peering lazily through the exposed glass. His eyes switched from the sleeping Naruto to Rido and back again.

"Hello there," he said; only Rido couldn't tell whether he was smiling or not because of the mask that hid the lower half of his face. Was he being sarcastic?

Rido didn't say anything in return.

"Oh, not the talkative sort huh? Guess I should have realized that from before." He laughed childishly and then was serious. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought that Naruto told you I wasn't a spy. I'm just visiting."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I mean what are you doing _here_, in Naruto's bedroom?"

_Oh. OH!! Oooooooooh…She_ hadn't exactly thought of a good way to explain their living together yet. She hadn't thought that she was going to need to explain it. "Well, um. Uh, it's uh, um. You see…"

Kakashi cocked his head to one side, expectantly. "Hmm?"

"We're um, kind of err, living together."

Kakashi made a face that said if he was drinking something at that moment he would have definitely sprayed it all over the glass. "What?!"

Rido smiled innocently and shrugged. However, Kakashi didn't look amused. "What do you mean you're _living together?"_

"It's not like that. It's only because I don't have anywhere else to stay. Uzumaki-sama, I mean, Naruto, graciously offered to let me stay in his home. He was very kind to offer so I couldn't refuse."

Kakashi looked at Naruto who was practically fallen off his bed and snoring like a wildebeest. "Yeah, Naruto is kind. Well, I should be going. Sasuke is…well he's up to something. Unfortunately, whatever he's up to is my problem now. I can't just ignore it anymore."

"Sasuke? I heard Naruto say something about him before."

He nodded. "Naruto's friend-slash-rival. I guess he saw that something odd was going on too. However, it's not like Naruto _not_ to care. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to spy on him himself."

"Why would he go through all that trouble?" Rido asked, confused. "If this Sasuke is up to something than is it really Naruto's business to go trying to find out what it is?"

Kakashi shook his head and sighed. "He's a pretty determined kid. It's not in his nature just to give up on his friends….or rivals."

Rido glanced at Naruto again. He was starting to stir now. Kakashi looked up at her. "See you around." He said with a two-finger salute and then darted away.

"Mmmmm, Rido-chan? Is that you?"

Rido looked to see Naruto sitting up and wiping his eyes.

"Naruto, I was just leaving."

"Leaving? To where?"

"Oh, to go and visit the training grounds. I wanted to try and brush up on my training while I'm here." _Please don't let him ask to come! Please! It's going to be hard enough trying to control the sentinel without an audience!!_

But Naruto's face lit up. "You're going to train?! Can I come help you practice?"

Rido sighed internally but nodded.

"Yes! Let me get dressed."

Later as Rido stood in the center of the circular grounds, a raging river encircling half the circumference, Naruto sat on one of the tree stumps to watch. He was practically bouncing out of his own skin with excitement. "Come _on _Rido-chan! Hurry up!"

Rido ground her teeth hard and closed her eyes. As she was beginning to realize, Naruto could be unbearably irritating sometimes. She let out a slow breath trying to concentrate on her throwing. _Okay, focus._ Rido swiftly pulled out eight shuriken, held them between her fingers and then tossed both fistfuls inward at an angel toward each other. The metal met with eight audible chinks and then bounced off each other, spiraling into each bull's-eye with a soft thunk.

"Whoa!" Naruto gasped. "Whoa Rido-chan! You kick ass at targeting!"

Rido smiled in Naruto's direction.

She pulled out a kunai this time and held it at arms length in front of her. Then she let it drop before back flipping and kicking it directly into the shuriken she had just thrown, splitting the metal in two.

Naruto gaped in disbelief. "Impossible! How the _hell_ did you _do _that Rido-chan?! That metal is supposed to with stand the largest amount of stress and you broke it with just one kick! That's not possible!"

Rido froze, cursing herself for over doing it. Was he suspicious?

"You're so awesome Rido-chan!!!! Can you teach me that? Huh? Can you, _please?_"

_I guess not,_ Rido thought contentedly. "Okay, okay. I guess I could try to teach you, but it's not really something that can be taught."

Naruto looked stumped. "Huh? If it's not something that can be taught than who taught you Rido-chan? Didn't you have a sensei?"

"Um…yes. Of course, I had a sensei. But having an excellent target sight takes more than lessons and practice. It's a gift."

"Ooooooh. A gift." Naruto mumbled while nodding as if he understood perfectly.

The truth was, Rido's perfect ability to hit any, literally _any_, target, came half from her superior bloodline and half from the demon sentinel. The beast's third 'all-seeing-eye' was said to carry the ability to see directly into a person's soul. Rido had noticed immediately after having the beast imprisoned inside her that she had knowledge of the exact points that she needed to hit to nail a mark. Her mind automatically knew where to move to angel exactly to a specific point.

"So what _can _you teach me?" Naruto chimed in.

Rido thought this over. If he was really willing to work, and his personality proved he would, then she could teach him one thing….

"Okay. I'll teach you a Hidden Soul Village secret."

"Really?!! A secret?!"

"Yeah. All you need to do is promise me you won't tell anyone, and I'll teach you."

"I swear on my life I won't tell!!"

"Okay. I'll then teach you the divination jutsu."

"Divination? Divination jutsu?"

"Yup. It's heavily powerful jutsu that allows you to summon the essence of the god of light and of dark and utilize their power. But it's hard. Extremely hard. You'll need to learn an entirely new jutsu style, spirit style which is not an easy thing to learn."

"If this jutsu is as powerful as you say then I'll learn it! I'll master this jutsu in no time at all! Just you watch!!"

Rido smiled at his iron will. This kid was something else.

"Hey Rido?"

"What?"

"If I asked you to come with me on a …mission…would you come?"

"What kind of a mission?"

"Oh, just a little undercover mission."

There was a moment of heavy silence as Rido took in Naruto's words. "You're going to spy on Sasuke aren't you?" she asked dryly.

"Will you come?" Naruto saw no point in arguing.

Rido sighed at the task ahead of her. But she figured she owed Naruto anything he wanted considering she'd befriended him just to kill him. Even though he didn't know this sad fact yet and Rido no longer intended to hurt Naruto, she still felt she'd betrayed him and would do anything to make it up to him.

Rido also knew first hand that spying always lead straight to trouble. "Alright I'll go, but I'm warning you now, you might not like what you find."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day Rido was wondering how she'd gotten herself into the sad situation she was in.

"OUCH! Naruto you kicked me in the face again!"

"Sorry," Naruto called down. "I'm almost over, just a little further."

Rido stood on her tip toes trying desperately to get Naruto over the wall to the Uchiha compound. It was dark in the middle of the night, so dark Rido could only barely make out the blonde ninja on her shoulders. She wondered how Naruto could possible find Sasuke's house in this thick shadow. But Naruto had insisted that he knew exactly what he was doing and for Rido to trust him.

Now she was kind of wishing she hadn't.

"Ow, ow, ow! Naruto you're pulling out my hair!"

"Sorry again."

Finally he swung his body feet-first over the wall and dropped down the other side. Rido rubbed her sore shoulders and hurriedly made her way to the back gate which Naruto had unlocked.

"Didn't I tell you to trust me?"

Rido dusted off some lose strands of hair. "Yeah, and if I go bald it's all the more joy. Can we just get this over with?"

"Okay, okay. No need to snap."

Naruto motioned for her to follow him and then lead the way through the community. It was dark alright, but that didn't stop Rido from seeing that the place seemed dead. No lights, no voices, no nothing. It was as if this Sasuke was the only one living in the entire community.

"Hey Naruto? Why is it that there's no one else here?"

Naruto coughed nervously. He didn't feel comfortable telling a story that wasn't his to tell, especially a story like this one. "Oh, well, you see, long story short, Sasuke's older brother Itachi killed off everyone else basically."

Rido stumbled. "What?!"

"Yeah, tragic really. That's why what's going on is so weird! Sasuke's usually hell bent on killing Itachi for vengeance. Nothing else was ever important to him. But now it's as if he's got something else on his mind."

_What was Sasuke up to? What was he planning??_ He had to know.

Rido didn't know how to respond to that. Instead she followed Naruto more closely as they snuck further into the darkness.

"There it is." Naruto whispered after they'd been going for a while. They'd stopped in front of a large white building. And it had to be it. It was the only house in the whole compound that had the lights on. Rido sighed with relief that they had finally found it and weren't lost in Naruto's poor navigation. "So now what?"

"Now we finally see what he's up to!" Naruto growled excitedly. He grabbed Rido's hand tightly before setting off toward the house. Naruto's grip made Rido feel oddly safer, though if there was any danger at all she could hold her own just fine and in a situation like that, Naruto probably wouldn't be much help. But still something about his hand in hers….. _I wonder why that is_, Rido thought vaguely. But she didn't have much time to concentrate on weird things. They were on a mission.

Lucky for them the house was one story so they wouldn't have to climb anywhere. They started checking all the windows in the lit rooms. Rido was just about to move to another before she caught a glimpse of someone. "Oh, there! Is that him Naruto?" Rido whispered. She was staring at a boy about their age with spiky black hair.

"Yeah, that's him."

"So what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?"

"Clues."

"Wow. Could you be a little more specific?"

"Anything suspicious."

_Suspicious, okay. _ Rido intently watched the young ninja who didn't seem to be doing much at all except tossing a shuriken in the air and catching it. He actually seemed bored.

Rido frowned in frustration. _How am I supposed to know if he's being suspicious if I don't even know what's normal for him?_ Maybe if he were mixing chemicals and pouring them into a corpse trying to create an undead army of immortal ninja assassins to take over the world, maybe then she could consider that suspicious. But the boy she was watching now wasn't doing anything. He just kept tossing that shuriken up and down.

Up, down, up, down, up, and down, and then up again, for literally hours and HOURS.

Rido yawned. She checked her watch. It was four o' clock in the morning. Had he actually been throwing that damn star for five hours? Gosh, she was tired, no, _beyond_ tired. She was utterly exhausted and bored out of her own scull.

"Naruto," she whispered sleepily. "Maybe we should…."

Only Naruto wasn't where she'd last seen him. She spun around in a circle searching the darkness for any sign of him but he was gone. No trace at all.

"Damn it!!! That idiot bastard skipped out! He'll definitely hear about this when I get home."

But as Rido stood up something changed. No, _everything_ changed. The trees in front of her eyes bent and twisted into impossible knots. A bluebird that had been silently settled on a branch shimmered before turning inside out, its blood and organs spilling to its feet. The darkness swirled in odd, unspeakable patterns and the very wall she'd just been touching altered, changing into a marshmallow-like texture. She soon became so disoriented and nauseated she had to fall to her knees. Her own body didn't even have hold anymore. But the world continued to shift and shake until she could barely stand it.

"Is….is this genjutsu?" She choked out.

Then, no sooner had the words left her lips did the world stop. Everything was right again, the bird was blue once more, no longer covered in its own blood, the trees had unknotted, the wall had become solid again, and her stomach had stopped turning as well. But there was something that different. Something—or rather, someone—was standing before her. She looked up and was met with the infamous sharingan eyes of Uchiha Sasuke.

"This genjutsu was yours wasn't it?" Rido croaked. Her mind was still foggy with the disturbing images.

The boy nodded.

"But how? How could you have cast genjutsu when I didn't even look into your eyes?"

The shinobi smiled a frightening evil smile that made Rido's stomach turn again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shuriken. The same one she'd been watching him throw all this time. "With this." He stated wryly. "Once you saw it for the first time you were immediately under my jutsu. A clever little tool isn't it? Comes in handy for situations just like this one. Now tell me please, who you are and what you are doing here."

Rido blinked hard, finally in control of her thoughts. "Where's Naruto?"

Sasuke's smile widened. He crossed his arms defiantly and narrowed his eyes. "That has nothing to do with you."

"The hell it doesn't!! Tell me where he is!"

His smile disappeared. "Why should I? You were on my property, invading my privacy. That gives me every legal right to kill you both."

Rido gasped. Her heart picked up a frantic pace. "What did you do to him?!!"

"Nothing that concerns you, even if he is dead it's none of your business. Go home."

Consumed with dismay Rido let her face fall. Was Naruto dead? Could he really truly be gone? All this time she'd been planning to kill him. All this time that's all she had ever wanted. Only just recently had she discovered that she couldn't do it. That she could never hurt him herself. But now, as his possible death was staring her in the face, only just at that very minuscule second had she realized how much she liked about him. She wasn't only sticking around because she felt guilty for deceiving him. She _didn't want_ leave Naruto. He was her closest friend. Truly.

"What's wrong with you?" Rido whispered. She was still staring at the ground, unable to find the strength to move even that much. "What is your issue? Naruto actually cares about what happens to you. I don't understand why but he does. You're his friend and that means nothing to you. How could you even say something like that about a man who would go through so much trouble just to make sure you're alright? What is going on in your head?!!"

Sasuke didn't respond. It went on like that for a while, the dead silence. Rido finally found the strength to look at him. He was staring at the sky. Finally he spoke. "Do you really care that much if he's dead or not?"

"Yes, of course I do."

Sasuke looked down at her. His eyes were searching. "What is he to you?"

"He's my closest friend."

He laughed softly. "Then I guess we have something in common."

Rido had just about enough of his cruel mind games. "Please, if he really is your closest friend than tell me where he is."

Rido was desperate and Sasuke could tell. "If you really want him then you'll have to fight me."

"WHAT?!"

"It's been a while since I've had a good brawl. If you win then I'll give him back to you. But if you lose....I'll show no mercy."

Rido gaped at the ninja before her. Was this guy serious??!?!? Was he actually proposing that she win or die!? Did she really want Naruto back that badly?

Yes. She did.

Rido stood up and brushed herself off. She wasn't going to let Naruto down. Not after he'd saved her. He deserved her loyalty if anything.

"Okay Sasuke you insane bastard. I'll fight you. But if I die then you have to swear you'll let Naruto go."

Sasuke smiled. It amused him that she was making demands. "Fine."

But, of course, Rido wasn't planning on dying. If the sentinel wanted out then she'd let it out. There was no way she would leave there without Naruto, even if it meant losing her conscious soul to a ravaging monster.


	7. Chapter 7

The night was cold and ageless. Rido's midnight black curls shivered as if ignited by the very darkness itself. She tried to assess the situation as calmly as possibly but it was difficult considering the circumstances. The reality was as simple as it was devastating. If she wanted to save Naruto she had to fight Sasuke. If he was strong then she would have to release the sentinel, and if he was too strong then she would die.

It was all too simple.

Rido closed her eyes slowly, thinking of the life she might just be losing. A life riddled by curses and plagues. She thought back to the very beginning of her sinister past, the moment the sentinel's soul was tied with chains, to hers.

"Look at me!" the newest member of the Mortality Association barked to Rido who was lying in bloody chains in an unknown location.

She couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered was going into her family's garden to water the garden like her nanny had told her. After that everything had gone painfully black. Rido felt a throbbing ache in her chest that seemed to pulse in time with her heart.

"Did you hear me?" the stranger asked again.

Rido blinked hard and looked upward. Her vision was hazy but she could still make out the outline of a slender man with what looked like electric blue hair down to his waist. As her vision cleared she could she that he was clad in the recognizable black cloak of the Mortality Association. He peered down at her with fierce white eyes.

"Where am I?" Rido asked groggily. She tried to move but was suddenly aware of the thick chains that had her wrapped tightly in a painful vice grip.

"Mutsuhito Rido-sama of the royal Mutsuhito clan, do tell me young princess, how it feels to be treated like a commoner. Does it make you angry?"

"What?"

Just then another Mortality Associate entered. This one had snow white hair that rested cleanly at his shoulders. It was obvious that he was old, much into his hundreds if that was even possible. His face was gaunt as a corpse and his dark eyes seemed as dead and lifeless as just that.

"Matashiro, I see you've successfully captured Rido-sama."

The one called Matashiro grinned arrogantly and twirled a chain in his hand. "It was literally nothing."

The other nodded, slightly rolling his eyes at Matashiro's snobbish display. Then he looked at Rido, his face cruel and full of unexplained malice. "Don't move child, or you will soon be dead."

Rido froze.

"Good, it looks like you're attentive. That will lessen your suffering, I assure you." He turned, with apparent effort in his elderly state, to Matashiro. "Take her to the 'room'."

Matashiro beamed at the task. Rido could tell that he would enjoy dragging her by her chains very much.

"Wait!" Rido pleaded as the older one turned to leave her. "Please, tell me what's going on." She didn't even know herself where all her sudden courage came from. Goodness knew, she was scared to her very soul, but something compelled her to speak up.

Matashiro took offense to this free will. "You dare speak to Hanabusa Shinto-dono?" He ground the chain in his hands together and then pulled back to swing.

"Stop it Matashiro," lord Shinto ordered. He hesitated, glaring at Rido with relentless hate, but lowered the chain and tossed it away.

"Listen to me child. If you survive this, I want you to tell your pitiful clan that this is a warning. We rarely give warnings. Next time there will be none." His words were like the edge of a steel blade, cutting her with their icy force.

With that, he turned to leave.

She did not speak again.

***

In her new cell Rido sat in her chains, crying miserably as her captor, Matashiro, sat in the other corner, tossing a small ball carelessly against the wall. He was humming a nameless tune to himself, as if this was nothing new to him, as if he'd done this a thousand times before.

Everyone knew the Mortality Association was powerful and secretive. Most kept their eyes out of their business in pure fear, while others were said to have snooped in on the Associations activities and were never heard from again. Some claimed the Association was big on human experimentation, and even more said that the group was infamous for sacrificing people to their god. But those were all rumors. No one really knew anything about them or where they gathered.

So no one could save her now.

She whined as she took in this fact.

"Quite," her captor hissed. He kept tossing his toy against the brick.

"Am I going to die?" Rido whispered.

"Maybe," he said with an uncaring shrug. "you could survive; it all depends."

"Do…do you think it will hurt very much? What they do to me, I mean?"

Again, the man shrugged without concern. "Yeah, it should hurt. But, of course, that all depends on if you stay alive long enough to feel it."  
Rido shivered making her chains rattle on the cold, concrete floor. She tucked her head into her knees and let the tears of fear and despair fall. She wasn't keeping time, it could have been hours before he spoke, but after a while the sound of the ball stopped.

"You know what really sickens me? It's that your _royal clan_ thinks they can do whatever the hell they want. Kill whoever the _hell_ they want to kill! Do you think that's right? Huh, _princess_? Did you know your disgrace of an older brother, _Hintaro_, killed one of our Associates? That bastard of a kid. Do you think that's right Rido?"

"I don't know," she whispered so softly she doubted he heard it. But he responded, "Of course you don't. You're only five-years-old after all."

Then they came.

Six figures crowded the doorway beckoning Matashiro to bring her. He turned to her and grinned wickedly. "It's time.

Now, in the present Rido ground her teeth, fuming at the memory of the terrifying people who hurt her. But she had a job to do now. She reminded herself that as she shot towards Sasuke.


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you scared Rido?" she heard Sasuke's voice call from somewhere around her. "Come and find me."

_Gladly,_ she thought_._ But there was hesitation. Rido had never given the sentinel full control before. The idea of the monster having utter control of her very soul made her weak with fear. A new kind of fear that wasn't like the kind she felt for Naruto's safety, this kind was the fear before getting on a thrill ride; though its something that you'd done before, something that's completely safe, you still panic.

"Come _on_, Rido! What kind of a coward are you? You're letting him die! You do realize that, don't you?"

_Shut up!_ Rido yanked out a kunai. She felt her fingers tremble softly as she placed it at her throat, closing her eyes as she cut her airways. Once again, that familiar fear raised in her chest as she realized she could no longer breathe. It was only the sentinel, with its own breath and heartbeat, which kept her alive. The pain from her wound faded quickly, her sight along with it. She didn't try to fight the sweeping control that washed over her. It was familiar sort of sensation of fear; familiar yet still frightening.

"Oh, well, hello Milady Ridonasai-chan." The sentinel's said calmly. Rido felt the blood in her veins ice over. The sentinel had only spoken to her once before, when she was very much younger. But she couldn't ever forget that horrible unearthly voice. Like a million shards of glass set on fire.

"It's been quite a while actually, since you've called me to battle…are you avoiding me? Or maybe you're just desperate. Whichever, doesn't really matter."

She said nothing still. She couldn't, not just yet. Whenever she awakened the sentinel or it came out on its own it always brought a sticky fear with it. It took a while for her to shake it off.

"Sentinel?"

"No, no, call me by my full name please." It said in a bitter maniacal voice.

"Daikirai Shinenai-sama, I apologize for addressing you improperly."

Shinenai laughed evilly before saying, "Quite alright. How's that tasty nine-tailed child? Is he dead yet?" It started to chuckle loudly.

Rido paused suddenly, she hadn't thought of a sound way to explain how Naruto wouldn't be dying, not by her. But she sucked in a courageous breath anyway. "No. He's not dead."

The sentinel, who had been laughing all this time stopped. "What?"

Something about the way it asked made her hesitate. "Um, I've decided not to kill him. It's for—"

"Ridonasai-chan, you do know what will happen if Kyuubi stays trapped don't you?"

Rido exhaled slowly. She knew the basics of her situation; if Kyuubi wasn't freed and he and Shinenai didn't merge, than she'd eventually be killed by Shinenai when it ripped itself from her soul and went to search for Kyuubi on its own. Kyuubi and Shinenai were never one before, but because of the curse put on Shinenai when it was inserted, it now was only a half soul demon. It could never be whole again unless it merged with the most powerful of the tailed beasts, which just happed to be sleeping inside of a Leaf shinobi. She only figured this out recently, though, when she read the letters sent from her village by carrier ravens.

Most of the letters had been from her mother who was mildly worried but mostly just wanted her to hurry up and thought she needed some incentive.

"Yes I know what will happen." She whispered.

"Oh! I see. Your soul tells me all. I can see it with my third eye, you know. You care about this nine-tailed child. Ha! You want him to be _safe_. How trivial. I'm amused." Shinenai exploded into laughter. A high and rough barking that made her want to cover her ears. After a while it stopped so abruptly that Rido jumped a bit. "Stop being stupid Ridonasai. You know that you and he can't both live at the same time. Destiny is not what you want it to be. You're irrational desire to be around him is nonsensical."

It was true, Rido knew this well enough, yet she still chose to hold so tightly to something that could never be. She couldn't help it. It was what her soul wanted. She couldn't change that.

"Rido!" Sasuke called again. He sounded deeply agitated. _Well, good, _Rido thought bitterly.

"That's the enemy, correct?" Shinenai asked.

"Yes."

"Excellent! Let's have some fun." Rido could only wait anxiously inside her mind as Shinenai rocketed toward the direction of Sasuke's heartbeat. Rido knew now that Sasuke was no average rank ninja, but no human was any kind of match for Daikirai Shinenai, the beast whose name means he will never die, the immortal dragon-dog of Soul village legend, said to have eaten the souls of all who opposed him.

"There he is the innocent mouse he is. It's a pity this is so easy." Shinenai bounded for Sasuke who was taken completely by surprise. Rido could hear the sentinel's thoughts, no longer intelligent sentences, but uncontrollable spasms of need. _Kill kill slash kill feed feed die die DIE!_

But just as the sentinel lowered its opened jaw to the boys neck, it bucked backward, startled for some reason, and then shook its head as if shaking away some unwanted thought. Then it turned Rido's face to growl at the ninja on the ground, "Stupid genjutsu won't work on me foolish child! You caught me of guard but I won't be taken again."

Hearing the strange voice finally alerted Sasuke to the fact that this thing in front of him in Rido's form was not Rido. "What are you?"

The thing laughed, an eerie soul-sucking chime like monsters ripping the hearts out of babies in their cribs. The boy couldn't help covering his ears. What was this monster?

"Oh…." The thing paused for a moment, considering something. "Oh I see your soul, boy. You're a dark one. I like you. Such a terrible pity to waste such a fine, corrupt, soul." Shinenai shook Rido's head. "Oh well, it can't be helped. So remorseful about this child."

Once again Shinenai lowered its mouth to Sasuke's throat. Sasuke tried to fight, so hard he tried! But this thing wasn't just holding his body down, but it pinned his spirit as well, he couldn't move an inch without encountering intense pain or fear or sorrow. The thing was controlling his emotions so much he couldn't think straight. He couldn't dream of escaping and he couldn't die now! Not without fulfilling his life goal…

"Alright, you win." Sasuke whispered. He wasn't one to so easily admit such a thing. It practically killed him to lose let alone to a girl.

"Hmm? What's that? "Shinenai asked, sounding distracted. "Oh! You want me to stop, child? Um…I am hungry. So very hungry! Gosh! Rido? You want me to stop?"

"Yes!" If Sasuke died, she would never find Naruto.

"Oh, alright." With a tortured sigh it unpinned Sasuke. No sooner had he been freed did the frightened shinobi shoot up and retreat a step. Never before has he experienced such immense power. What was this trickery? Was this a tailed beast? No, tailed beasts showed physical sighs when their power was use. An aura of chakra, a darkening of eyes, yet this _thing_ showed nothing. And the power! Could such a being exist?

"Where's Naruto?" Rido asked once she had regained control of her body.

"Resting safely at home, idiot." Sasuke said offhandedly. He was too concerned with the demon-thing to care what Rido thought of his manipulations. But Rido was relived. She had been so sure that Naruto was gone, knowing he was home didn't make her angry at Sasuke, but almost grateful. Without another word she spun and darted toward home.

Meanwhile Sasuke continued to brood relentlessly, obsessing over this new finding, and…..how he could use it to his advantage. The thing had said he liked Sasuke, well, Sasuke liked him too.


	9. Chapter 9

Rido ran full speed toward her dwelling, full of hope and need to see if Sasuke was lying or not. If Naruto was alright she could rest easy, but if he wasn't…well she wouldn't be so quick to stop Shinenai the next time that it decided to kill him.

She was close to home now, so close that she could just make out the faint silhouette of their apartment. Rido smiled contently to herself. _Yes, almost there—_

Unfortunately, just then, right in front of her, a dark figure dropped stealthily down from seemingly nowhere. She had to stop short to keep from smacking straight into whoever it was.

"Um…who?..."

Except Rido didn't need to say anymore. She immediately recognized the crimson red eyes, the inverted number four tattoo, that secretive scowl.

Hintaro onii-san, her older brother.

But…how? Why? She hadn't seen or heard from Hintaro since he was prosecuted for the murder of one of the Mortality Associates and fled the village ten years ago. Even before that dark event he never spoke to her, not once. She always thought that he hated her. What could he possibly want with her now? Here? After disappearing for so long and putting a black mark on their clan?

"Onii-san? What are you doing here?" Rido asked once she was calm enough to speak.

"It's been a while," Hintaro said in a dark, bone-chilling voice that she didn't remember. Come to think of it, she didn't remember him having translucent black hair down to his back either. Well he _had_ been gone for ten years. It was obvious that he'd be different. Still, besides the eyes and the tattoo, she barely recognized this new Hintaro.

"Yes, it has. Why are you here? What do you want?"

Hintaro laughed to himself, a deep foreboding sound. He was dressed in a black hooded cloak that blended in so well with the shadows that he looked as if he was part of the shadows. Had he always been this sinister? This frightening? She took a small step backward.

"Aren't we a bit forward, young sister?"

"Sorry, I—I was just, uh…This is kind of sudden and, well, I haven't seen you in…I mean, you never…" she trailed off, unable to figure out a good way to continue.

Hintaro adjusted himself irritably and sighed. "Well, I know I've never really acknowledged you much before. But that was a time long ago. The times when I was a Hidden Soul shinobi are dream-like to me. I don't consider them to matter or even a reality."

"What? I don't understand." Rido truly did not understand yet she wanted so desperately to.

"My life now, what it's done to me, the people who've changed me, hurt me, they're what matter now. Please don't try to understand young sister, you won't. I just want you to know something. You know the Association, right?"

Rido nodded. "They're the ones who were after you because you killed one of their men."

Hintaro nodded absently and looked of into the surrounding forests. His gaze lingered there for a while before he turned back to speak. "I'm their king."

Rido blinked hard. Had she heard right? He was what? Their _king_? Huh? The Mortality Association? The same one that had been so enraged by his killing of their man, that they had implanted a soulless demon inside Rido? Was she crazy? Was _he_ crazy? None of this made sense.

"I know that you must be very confused, but understand that how I obtained this position is not important."

Rido paused, considering his suspicious words. Then realization hit. "You killed them didn't you."

Hintaro almost smiled, she could see it, but stopped himself.

She gasped in shock "I know that they were out to get you, Hintaro, but _this?_ This is too low! How could you just—"

"Now, now, young sister don't get the wrong idea. I didn't kill them all. Most of them were happy to accept such a powerful ruler. But Hanabusa, well, he had to die. He was much too reluctant."

Rido perked at the vaguely familiar name. She flashed back to that night. The one where Shinenai and her had been fused. "Hanabusa? Hanabusa Shinto-dono?"

Hintaro bristled. He was suddenly furious. His eyes narrowed, glowing a fiery crimson that penetrated her soul. "Do you have any idea how much it angers me to here you call that arrogant bastard dono? Well, do you?"

Rido jumped. She hadn't even realized that she'd said dono. It was just the way she remembered Matashiro saying it. "I'm sorry."

Hintaro's look didn't soften. "Alright. It doesn't matter. He's dead now."

Rido said nothing. She was afraid that if she spoke he would get mad again.

The silence lengthened endlessly as Hintaro's rage ebbed. "I only came here to warn you, Ridonasai."

"About what?"

Hintaro leaned his face close to hers. "Beware that boy, do you hear me? Don't get too attached to him. He will not be around very long. You may not believe this, but I care about you young sister. I know that you've grown attached to this boy and I know that you refuse to kill him. But understand that if you don't I will," he put his hand in Rido's hair. She could feel his fingers cold as ice. She shivered. "I care about you Ridonasai and I'll do what's best for you. The boy dies soon."

And with a puff of smoke, he was gone. It was only a shadow clone. He didn't trust her enough to actually show himself to her, probably afraid she'd try to kill him first before he killed Naruto. It disturbed her that he thought she would sink as low as to kill her own brother. Or perhaps he was just busy, with him being head of the most feared ninja organization in the land. Whichever reason didn't matter much. What mattered was that Naruto was in danger. _Again. _

"The kid can't catch a break," Rido though bitterly as she sprinted the rest of the way home.

She finally reached the door and was suddenly breaking into a cold sweat. What if Hintaro had decided that "soon" meant right now? Naruto could be dead already and it would all be because she couldn't get the damn key in the door!

Finally the lock clicked, the knob turned and the door gave way to a dark, still room. A dark silent room. No snoring. No Naruto. _No! No no no no no please no! _She hastily searched his bed, turning over the covers and searching every possible corner. He wasn't anywhere.

_Damn you Hintaro! Damn you Sasuke! Whichever one of you bastards did this!_

"Naruto!"

No reply. He was truly gone.


	10. Chapter 10

A fog of darkness enveloped Naruto's mind. And while he was trying hard to feel past it, it seemed that the harder he tried, the denser it got. It was suffocating him. It appeared, grimly, that there was no end to the choking darkness. But then someone was calling him. A voice rang dimly through the fogginess, shallow and soft at first, but gaining volume every second, clearing the darkness away a bit with every calling. And then he was conscious.

"Oh, you're awake now," a strange voice said with a mild relief. "I thought you were dead for a second."

It was dark, Naruto noticed, but he could just make out the ground flying past ten feet below. He was moving through the trees but his feet were stationary. And then there was that _pain_ in his side. _What the?... _That's when he realized that he was being carried. He was slung carelessly under an arm; his side pressed hard against what he assumed was a kunai.

"Hey! What the?...Put me down!"

"Shhh. You'll get us caught."

Naruto tried to move put the moment he started to struggle that pain in his side got worse. "Put me down or you'll be sorry!"

The stranger laughed mischievously. "Oh?"

Naruto tried to perform the signs for a shadow clone jutsu but it didn't work. He couldn't summon any chakra. "What the—"

"You done?" The man asked impatiently. Naruto looked up at his mysterious assailant, growing more and more irritated with the situation every second. The man's face was covered in a shadow cast by a black hood. "I sealed away your chakra. You can't use any jutsus. And would you shut the hell up? We're gonna get caught if you keep yelling like that."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Naruto seethed. By then he was far fed up with this back-and-forth game.

They came to a screeching halt on a branch suddenly. So suddenly in fact, that Naruto nearly fell out of his captors grip. But no such luck. With his free hand, the man pulled back his hood revealing a mane of blue silver hair. "Shin Matashiro, Association member number Two, expert in torture of the cruel and unusual variety and right hand to Hintaro-dono, king of all Mortalities."

"What?"

Matashiro scowled. He was used to people cowering in fear at the very sound of his name; he'd never met anyone who didn't even _know_ his name. He scoffed. "Not that I was expecting you to know anything about us, you impudent brat!" He could feel his bruised ego throbbing.

"Well, what do you want with me anyway?"

The blue haired man smiled evilly and started moving again. That sharp pain in Naruto's side was starting to hurt more than ever. He could feel a warm trickle that rand smoothly from between his ribs to his stomach where it dripped into his jacket. "Well, I can't go telling you classified information like that, now can I?"

Naruto was done, his patients gone, he was all but about to attack the guy who Naruto was sure couldn't _be_ more of an asshole if he tried, but that's when he remembered. Rido. What about her? Where was she anyway? Had he taken her too? His annoyance morphed into anger. "Put me down now. This is the last time I'll ask you."

"Or what, nine-tails?"

Naruto could feel it. He could feel his anger loosening the seal that held the Kyuubi at bay. He could feel the demon's chakra leaking out into him, taking over him. Yes, he could feel it, but he couldn't recognize it. He always felt it just before it happened, but that was all he knew of it. And the feeling was always forgotten once the demon took over, that feeling that knew but did not recognize, it always melted away. He could never grasp it.

Matashiro jumped at the sudden chakra flooding from his prisoner's body. The red hot chakra seemed to actually _burn_ his fingers. He released his hold and Naruto was able to wrench out of his grip, fully under the demon's control. Matashiro spun around and landed on the branch in front of Naruto's. The blonde haired teen looked down at his side where a kunai was lodged in all the way up to the handle causing a river of blood that stained his jacket red. He reached down and yanked the weapon from his flesh, not wincing when the edges caught on his bone. Matashiro glared at the boy who was emitting a steady growl as they squared off, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. Matashiro was banking on Naruto to make the first move. He had a plan churning in his mind that was hoping would work. He hadn't planned on the nine-tails being released, that was a serious fault of underestimation on his part, but now that it was he had to compensate. Naruto lunged first, playing right into Matashiro's hands.

The man, who no longer had the advantage of being the only one who could wield chakra, preformed the signs to release his chakra net. He affixed the web of high density chakra to the branches of the tree he was kneeling in. He had to work fast or he would have the web placed in time before the kid reached him. Once the chakra was stuck securely to the bark, the strings of the chakra web literally invisible to someone without a spectacular blood limit to see them, he fell back into the lower branches of the tree behind him. His boots connected with the wood just as Naruto fell into the web.

The teen's clothes stuck to the strings first forming a bond that was impossible to break. Then the web began to drain the boy's chakra, sucking the Kyuubi's energy with every pulse of the boy's heart and delivering it into Matashiro's chakra system via a single sting of the web that was wired into his veins.

The chakra web jutsu had been passed down through only the purest and direst descendants of the Shin clan, with Matashiro being the first-born son of his father, the leader of the clan. Originally, Matashiro had failed at the jutsu, which had been taught to him at the age of five, like tradition. But in his early ninja days, he wasn't what anyone would call a prodigy. In fact, he had barely even graduated from the academy. He was a disgrace to his otherwise perfect clan and was ostracized by them because of it. The crippling isolation is most likely what led him to the Association in the first place.

"With every beat of your heart I get more powerful. It's impossible for you to win!"

%%%

"Hinata, your father has to talk to you." Mei, Hinata's maid, called into her ajar door. The blue-haired beauty looked up from her journal. Hinata blushed, embarrassed to be caught while writing something so personal. She shut her diary and shoved it into its locked box on top of her dresser.

"I'll be right down," she said with a bow. It was an odd habit, bowing to her maid, but she always felt uncomfortable if she didn't.

Once Mei had gone and shut the door behind her, Hinata slowly changed into a kimono. Hiashi preferred it that his daughter looked 'presentable' when she appeared before him, so she donned her white kimono and descended the stairs to her father's sitting room. Hiashi was having tea on the mats in the room's center. He didn't look up when Hinata entered.

"Sit." He ordered.

Nervous, she shuffled forward with small, restrained steps, bowed deeply, and sank to her knees on the other side of a small table. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap and waited for him to address her.

Hiashi sighed and put down his teacup. "Hinata, you should have known that this day would come eventually."

The girl was confused but kept silent.

"I have a husband for you. He is the shinobi son of a powerful daimyo, of whom has connections that we need. Of course, you understand. This marriage would make our clan's influence over foreign adversaries grow, not to mention the potential it has to produce skilled ninja offspring. It's an honor that he offered his son to us, not that our part of this bargain isn't significantly greater, still, this arrangement should prove to be—what are you…?...Are you _crying?_"

Hinata tried to stop herself from sobbing like she was, but she couldn't stop it. She'd always known that that this would happen, always know…but then why? Why was her heart breaking so painfully? Why did she want….Naruto?

"STOP." Hiashi barked, outraged.

Hinata swallowed her sobs and let the tears flow soundlessly. She bowed her head further, allowing her hair to shield her tear-stained cheeks.

Hiashi looked about ready to choke her, but he just clenched his fists and growled. "I should throttle you for that sort of nonsense. But you have to be prepared for you're wedding ceremony tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" she allowed the terrified cry to escape her lips. It was just so soon…

"That's quite enough out of you. Go up to your room and rest. Now."

Hinata rose fluidly. She was at her brink as she staggered up the staircase and collapsed into her sheets. She sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow, praying to wake up from this hellish nightmare. Why did this have to happen just when she thought she just might be brave enough to talk to him? Why why why why why why why

"Naruto…."

**A/N: This is a really suspenseful place to leave off, but it must be done. I technically never formally classified this as a NarutoOC fic, so things could be getting Naruhina-ish….maybe…I don't know. Or maybe this will turn out to be a NarutoOC fic. Naruhina, NarutoOC, it'll all just have to play out. I'll update this **_**very **_**soon. Maybe even in four days. Anyway, thanks for reading! **


	11. Chapter 11

Rido stepped out from the shadow cast by the Hokage tower. She was dressed in the clothes that she'd originally had on when she'd left her village on this mission; an all black one-piece that blended in so well with the shadows that it was like it was made of the darkness itself. She shifted her hair away from her face as the wind whipped around the freezing cold night. She knew too well, what she'd have to go through in order to find Naruto. It wasn't going to be easy for her, but she'd just have to swallow it. She exhaled and, once again, let the sentinel have control. The crippling cold sensation sent her shuddering as the evil crept into her mind in rolling smoke, cold as the blood that slipped from her throat, choking her, and allowing the monster to breathe for her. To live for her.

"Rido-chan? Again, I'm speaking to you without the Kyuubi here. Why is that, I ask you?" the sentinel's grating voice echoed through her mind. She clenched her teeth as the sound, reminiscent of glass grating against glass, assaulted her senses. However, despite this, she found her voice to answer.

"I need you to help me find him." She whispered as she glanced around. She didn't know for certain whether or not Hintaro was still lingering around. She couldn't trust this man who was her own brother. Not anymore.

The sentinel laughed that icy laugh and then emitted a growl. "I'm not a fool, contrary to whatever you may believe. I know that I'm not helping you find him so that you can kill him and give the Kyuubi back to me. You're much too attached to this child. You'd stake the fate of your entire clan and that of yourself to save him. That's what you want me to do, correct? To save him?"'

Rido sucked in a breath and let it go. It crystallized in front of her eyes in a misty white cloud. "Yes."

The sentinel didn't say anything in response to this. Instead, he snatched her mind away, taking over her just as he'd done those times before. Rido complied entirely, allowing the demon, the creature that could so easily swallow her mind and drive her into insanity, to have the jurisdiction over her. She didn't have any other choice than this. She had no idea who had taken Naruto or where they'd gone. It would take days to track whomever it was down alone, especially since she had no clues as to who they were. This was the only way. The only way.

She waited patiently, a small existence, a mere conscience in the back of her own mind, as the sentinel sought out the distinctive heartbeat of the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. Few people knew that demons were much more sensitive to each other's presence than humans were. It was a characteristic that came in particular handy now.

"Hmmm, ah. No, that's a….another sentinel. What? Another sentinel. And _that's_ Kyuubi. A sentinel and Kyuubi together? I haven't sensed a presence so close to mine in over six centuries. Yes, this is most defiantly another sentinel."

_Another sentinel?_ Rido inquired from her perch in the back of her mind. She'd never imagined such a thing. She'd always assumed that maybe since the nine-tails was the strongest and wildest of all the tailed beasts, it had a sentinel for that reason. _Is this new sentinel the guardian of a tailed beast, too?_

"No," it replied intriguingly. It started off toward the origin of the signals. "Sentinels are demon guardians to other powerful demons. We're split explicitly from them at the time of creation. Still, since _all_ demons have an origin somewhere it is more than possible that other sentinels exist. It's a thought that has never before occurred to me. Curious…."

Rido ingested this new piece of the mystery that she was living in as the sentinel broke into a sprint toward the two signals. Sentinels were split parts of powerful demons. That made sense, but then why did this particular sentinel need to join with its demon counterpart again?

"Hmmm. One seems to be fading. Quickly."

Rido snapped away from her thoughts and focused back on reality. _Which one?_ She thought hard.

The sentinel seemed to lapse, a very subtle hesitation that Rido wouldn't have picked up if they weren't so intimately connected. _It's Naruto's, isn't it?_

"The Kyuubi's signal is wavering. However, its energy is being drained at a steady rate. It should take much more to make it weak. We should be able to reach it in time."

Rido didn't relax. She remained so nervous that she could barely compose her thoughts into coherent phrases. _Are you sure? What will happen if we run into someone?_

"Do you have that little faith in my abilities?" the sentinel whispered with a brooding chuckle that lacked any humor.

Rido only hoped desperately that nothing would go wrong.

_Naruto…_

%%%

"Matashiro's got the jinchuriki?" Hintaro asked Mortality Associate Five, Aikei. Her short gold-colored hair wiped in her face in the windy night revealing the multiple piercings that adorned both her ears.

The girl nodded and bowed to him in respect. "Yes, Hintaro-dono. I have just received word from a messenger raven that Matashiro has the child in captivity and is making his way back to headquarters."

"Good," Hintaro whispered to himself. It was then that he remembered. "Tell me, Aikei, what is the hour?"

The girl looked up at the sky. "It looks about four in the am. Why?"

Hintaro laughed to himself as if some unknown joke had been told. "It's nothing. Just make sure everything goes smoothly from here on out. I'm putting you in charge, Aikei. Don't let me regret putting my faith in you."

She bowed in agreement to his words. "I won't fail you master. But, if I may be so rude to ask, where are you going? I didn't think that there was anything that could pull you away from work at a time like this."

Hintaro glanced back over his shoulder. He was already perched in a tree branch, ready to go. "I have somewhere to be." He said cryptically before disappearing into the forest.

"Hinata-sama," Mei called at her closed door. Hinata jumped at the sound, fumbling with the lock on her diary box and shoving it back in place just before her door slid open. "Hinata-sama? Your father is calling for you.

Hinata bowed and waited for the door to close. Once it clicked shut she shuffled over to her bed and kneeled down to cry a bit before composing herself. She had to put on a brave fate for the sake of her clan. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to her. Almost all of the main branch Hyuuga members were subject to arranged marriages. It had to be done to insure power and the purity of bloodlines. It was tradition. It was honorable. Still, she couldn't help herself from feeling as if she might collapse at her wedding ceremony and never again get up. The anguish was too much to bear.

"Naruto," she whispered like a prayer. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her body the way she did at the temple. "I…I know that this isn't your problem, and I know that you probably wouldn't care either…but…but I really love you and I want to be with you. I—I don't want to be with somebody else. I love you, Naruto. I just wish I'd told you before. It's too late now."

Mei knocked at her door. "Hinata-sama, I think that it's urgent."

"I'm coming!" she called. She struggled to her feet, the task made difficult by her restraining kimono. As she crept down the stairs, she could hear two adult male voices from the sitting room. She strained to hear them clearer. One of them was defiantly that of her father. But the other….she couldn't place that other voice. Who was that?

She reached the base of the staircase and shuffled into the room. The two men snapped up from their intense conversation and looked over to her. She froze. The other man was sinister, dark, and foreboding. She almost took a step backward at the sight of him, but caught herself. She gazed at him intently, eyes grazing over the inverted number four that was tattooed on his pale skin. She wondered what it could mean. A clan symbol? She'd never seen one like that.

"Hinata," her father said with relief as if he was worried that she'd sooner run off rather than face her obligations to her clan. He walked over to her and led her forward. "This is Mushinto Hintaro-san, the man who you will be marrying."

Hintaro grinned mischievously at the trembling flower that had been presented to him. He bowed. "Hello Hinata-sama. It is a pleasure."

Hinata stayed frozen in fear for a while until her father pinched her. Hard. She bowed quickly. "Y—yes. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

She heard Hintaro snicker softly and she blushed. The two stood up from their bows and faced each other. Hinata looked terrified but Hintaro looked amused. He leaned into her face and smirked at her. "My, aren't you pretty." He whispered heartlessly in a voice so soft and malicious that Hiashi couldn't hear. Hinata felt her face flame and looked at the ground. She didn't like this man. Not at all. He was too cruel. She didn't doubt that he would make her miserable.

"It seems," Hiashi chimed in, ending her distress. Hintaro leaned away from Hinata's face to look at him. "That this arrangement should work out well. There isn't much of an age difference between you two."

Hinata bit her lip, still starting intently at the ground. It was true that by arranged marriage standards, they were fairly close in age. But that was only because the Hyuuga had been known to marry far greater an age gap. In truth, Hintaro had to be at least nine years older than her if not more than that.

"The ceremony will be a private one, as tradition mandates. It's to be held in the evening so it gives you time to prepare." Hiashi continued.

Hintaro nodded and turned to face his bride-to-be. "Until then." He said with another bow before walking off. Hinata felt relieved to be out of his presence but that relief was short lived when she remembered that she would soon be married to this nasty man. He heart plummeted into her stomach at the thought.

"Father," she whispered pleadingly. She knew that begging would do nothing, but she didn't know what else to do. She was so desperate. "Please. Please, father I don't want to marry him. Please don't make me.

Hiashi gave her a warning look. "Stop. Not this again. Not now."

She thought again of the dark and hateful man that she'd be bound to for eternity. His malicious smirk, his harsh and sarcastic tone, his evil red eyes. "But father _please!_" she wailed desperately. She collapsed to her knees.

"Get up." Hiashi ordered sternly. He was growing annoyed.

"But I…I don't love him." She whispered.

"What's that?" he asked in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe his ears. "Love?"

"Yes," she said. She hadn't planned to spill her hearts inner most wants, not to her father of all people, but she couldn't hold it inside anymore. "I'm in love with Uzumaki Naruto."

Hiashi sounded like he'd started to say something but choked on whatever his response might have been. The room was deathly silent for such a long time that Hinata risked a glance through his hair at her father's face. She regretted it.

Hiashi's face was enraged. Enraged. The only word that Hinata could think of to describe the look of shock and outrage in his eyes.

"…Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yes. I—"

"Stop! Enough of this nonsense! I can't believe that you would dare oppose this. You should be honored to be subject to such a ceremony! And to dismiss a shinobi like Hintaro-san for that…that demon child?"

Hinata recoiled. "Please don't say such things about him."

"Silence! You've said enough on this matter. Now go up to your room. Now. Mei!"

The young woman bustled in. "Yes Hiashi-sama?'

"You have the key to Hinata's room, right?"

Mei looked pale but nodded.

"Once you're sure she's inside I want you to lock it. The windows too," he turned to his daughter. "I'm not expecting you to try anything. I trust you will not shame your clan by not fulfilling your obligations."

She sniffed and nodded. What more could she do?

"Good." Hiashi said with satisfaction. "Now go."

Hinata stood and ran up to her room. She couldn't seem to stop herself from slamming her door closed behind her. She'd never acted in such defiance before, but she didn't see any use in continuing to behave. It wouldn't make a difference anyway. Her fate was sealed as tight as her bedroom door that locked closed at that moment with a soft _click._

Hintaro heard the banging from his place in the downstairs guest room and laughed. For such a fragile girl to be so passionate, she must be very unhappy indeed. He felt honored to be the one to make her so miserable. He lay with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling and thinking of the jinchuriki. Were things really going as smoothly as he had hoped?

%%%

The chakra web's suction was getting painful. Naruto cringed at the hungry pull at his chakra veins. He had to detach himself from the web or he'd be drained dry, only it was so damn sticky. Every time he tried to pull at it only held harder. It was like some Chinese finger trap. The more you struggle the worse the binding got. He couldn't think straight with the Kyuubi in control.

Matashiro could feel the insanely powerful chakra pouring into him, fueling him. He was stronger than ever before. He hadn't realized the power that the nine-tails possessed. It was so immense.

Naruto writhed as the pull on his veins became tighter and tighter still. There didn't seem to be any way to escape the encasing web. The Kyuubi, who hadn't been responding to the assault, suddenly grew angry and flashed into two tails, pouring even more chakra into its captor.

Matashiro felt his veins bulge with all of the chakra that he was absorbing. It was…it was becoming _too_ much. He didn't think that his body could take anymore. He had never run into this problem before. Usually his opponent would have died long ago, all their chakra absorbed into him. But that wasn't the case. He'd never tried to absorb the chakra of an awakened jinchuriki before. There seemed to be no limit to it. He could feel his heart struggling to pump all of it through his body.

_This wasn't supposed to happen._ He thought frantically. _I'll have to severe the bond. _But he couldn't. If he cut the string that was wired into his veins, all of his own chakra would spill out with no way for him to stop it. Either way, it seemed he was doomed; a bitter change of events.

"Damn it," he muttered as he pulled out shuriken. He'd have to kill the jinchuriki. It was the only way to stop it. "Hintaro is going to _kill_ me for this. But there's no other way."

He shot the star at the trapped boy, not expecting it to be intercepted mid flight by another shuriken.

"What the hell?" he said looking down to the forest floor. It was then he saw her. That child that he didn't think he'd ever see again. "Rido?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she climbed the tree in order to face him. Her eyes were blazing red. Without a word, she pulled a kunai to Matashiro's throat and slashed it. The blood didn't come at first, for a while there was a long moment when nothing happened, but then it was gushing, streaking down in thick streaks down the front of his cloak. Matashiro wobbled and then collapsed, the chakra string finally reseeding into his body, releasing Naruto from the chakra web.

"Bastard," both Rido and the sentinel muttered to the man who had corrupted their fates.

They turned to see that Naruto had lost consciousness. Rido was panicky at first but the sentinel calmed her.

"It's to be expected. The Kyuubi was awakened. This usually happens to hosts of powerful demons, they pass out after the demons take over. I suppose you'll be wanting control now?"

_Yes, if you don't mind._

"Why the hell would I mind." It said sarcastically before returning her mind to her. Rid swayed a little. She was dizzy from her shift in consciousness, but she soon regained herself. She looked down at Naruto who had begun to snore. For some reason, the sound did not annoy her. She sighed and picked him up.

_He's heavier than I thought,_ she thought as she balanced him in one arm. She looked to where Matashiro was still bleeding out. Killing him, a Mortality Associate, shouldn't have been so easy. He must have been weakened for some reason….maybe….

"Doesn't matter now," she said as she started back for the village.

%%%

Aikei found Matashiro a few minutes later; he was sitting against the trunk of a tree, waiting for her. She looked at the puddle of blood that he was sitting in and wrinkled her nose. "When you said that you were injured I didn't think you meant seriously."

He shrugged. "I'm fine now."

Aikei eyed the horizontal gash in this neck. She hadn't noticed it before. "How can you be fine with a wound like that?"

He smiled. "Well, I really did think that I was going to die until Rido showed up."

"Rido? _That_ Rido?"

Matashiro nodded. "When she cut me my chakra string was released because I couldn't maintain it while I was in such a critical state. If it hadn't been for that then the jinchuriki kid would've killed me with his freakishly abundant chakra."

Aikei shook her head in confusion. "I don't get it. But it doesn't matter. Why did that wound not kill you is what I want to know."

"That kid's chakra's got healing abilities apparently."

"Lucky for you then,"

"Yeah."

Aikei knew that she was in big trouble. The jinchuriki was gone; she'd allowed this to happen. Hintaro was going to have her head for this. He never trusted anybody to be in charge besides himself, and the one time that he did she let _this_ happen. His most important project was wrecked. She cringed to think what he'd do to her. "Hintaro is not going to be happy about this."


End file.
